~ politics for the people

If Tories ‘misdeclared’ election spending then they committed a criminal offence – and David Cameron knows this

David Cameron backed the battle bus campaign and said “I’m responsible for everything” [Image: Getty].

Let’s put this into perspective.

Election fraud – by “misdeclarations” of expenses after breaking spending limits – is a criminal offence punishable by up to one year in prison.

Each candidate is responsible for his or her own expenses and David Cameron cannot take overall responsibility (although his admission may lead to a very welcome prosecution against him, further down the line).

His attempted justification – that other parties used so-called “battle buses” – won’t stand up because, as far as we know, the other parties used them for legal purposes. We know that the Tory “battle bus” campaign was an attempt to use national expenditure to support local candidates, which isn’t allowed.

And that’s not touching the offences which may have been committed by individual candidates. For example, here in Brecon and Radnorshire a local newspaper carried a four-page “wraparound” advert for the Tories, a week before the general election last year.

This advert, bearing the local newspaper’s masthead, called on readers to vote ‘Conservative’ in the general election. The candidate later became MP but the cost of the advert, running into thousands of pounds, does not appear in his expenses claim.

It is not a national expense because it appears in the local paper and calls on people in a specific constituency to vote Tory.

The expense on this advert alone put This Writer’s (current) MP several thousand pounds over his spending limit – never mind David Cameron’s visit to two sites within the constituency, with his “battle bus” and all the party hangers-on it brought with it.

Although the primary culprits in misdeclarations of expenses must be the individual candidates, it certainly appears to be a centrally organised conspiracy, which would make all parties to the conspiracy equally liable, surely?
And where that is done to seize control of the country illegally, is that not treason?

Wait a couple of weeks and then visit Electoral Services at your local council and ask to see that candidate’s expenses declaration. If the wrap isn’t included in his local spending and the amount he has declared is close to the limit, then he’ll have overspent and failed to declare, and you’ll be able to report him/her to the police.
It is very satisfying!

He added: “If there were misdeclarations or things left out we have to put those in place, but I’m confident we can answer all the questions that are being put to us.”

The only way to put this right is to have another General Election or have ALL the seats that were visited chosen by the lawful ballot of the people. You cannot unring the bell! If the Tory party committed election fraud then they should not be in power as a result of that fraud. If Cameron thinks that his and the parties misrepresentation of election spending should be given a pass what message does that say to others who say I didn’t mean to cheat or commit fraud?

If a person on benefits “misdeclares” any income, can they put things back in place without punitive measures being taken against them?
Can an embezzler dodge jail by saying “OK, I got found out but let’s talk about it and I can lie my way out of a prison term?
Can someone who made a fraudulent acquisition tell the judge “It was only a teensy weensy bit of misdeclaration and expect to go scott free back to that acquisition?
The answer to all three questions is no, no and no.

You really shouldn’t go around saying “nothing illegal was done” without checking up on your law first!
The offences mentioned are highly illegal and, on conviction, those accused of them may face a prison sentence of up to one year.
You do not know that the other parties have done anything of the sort.
Please, do not try to mislead readers of This Blog with false information. You know you’ll be found out.

Here is an admission that the Tories have been defrauding the electorate “For Many Years” to such an extent that they accept it as standard practice. You see the Tories are so stupid they don’t even know when they are wrong. This admission requires historical examination.

While I see what you mean, I think Hayfords’ attitude is that the law hasn’t been broken, so I had to put that straight. It has.
Your main point is a good one. How long – or rather, how often – have we been ruled by a government that didn’t deserve to be there?

If the election expenses have been misdeclared then there are possible charges of criminal deception, but also of falsification of accounts and surely, if each of the suspect constituencies has used a similar pattern, we are looking at an organised system and a conspiracy which will go into the high echelons of the Nasty Party – if not right to the top – to the oily snake oil salesman who currently inhabits 10 Downing Street.